Pregnancy & RA

By Ry Thursday, April 16, 2009

- A
- A
- A

I have been living with RA for 5 years. I've been on several dosages and types of steriods/medications to manage it. Luckily, I have been able to keep it under control for the last 2 years and haven't had to resort to steriods (though there were times when I wanted to). My husband and I are beginning to think about starting a family but I am very scared as to how my body will react. My doctor told me that it can go either way when you are pregnancy-could be worse, could be better. Before I was diagnosed with RA, they thought I had Lupus (which you can never be truly diagnosed with). What kind of effects could the steriods/medications have on a pregnancy/baby??

Comments (5) | Add comment

Hope

4/17/09 6:40am

You cannot take any of the meds while you are pregnant, your dr should have told you that. Some of them you need to be off for a certain amount of time to get them out of your system before tring to get pregnant. I discussed getting pregnant with my dr and that is what he told me. You run a high risk of miscarriage and birth deffects.

Lene Andersen, Health Guide

4/20/09 7:44pm

Keep in mind that I'm not a doctor, so this information is what I've managed to pick up through my "career" with this disease. It is my impression that usually, when a woman is trying to get pregnant, it is safest to get off all medication, except possibly prednisone, as it appears to be fairly safe for a developing fetus. I've also heard that most women go into remission while pregnant, although the RA tends to come back about 6-8 weeks after birth - this remission is so common that I once heard a rheumatologist jokingly recommend his female patients stay pregnant as much as possible. I do know several women who have had successful pregnancies with RA and for whom everything worked out. If you and your husband decide to go for it, you may want to get you OB/GYN to coordinate information with your rheumatologist so they can both provide whatever assistance you may need during your pregnancy.

SprkPixie

5/ 7/09 10:44am

I realize this is a month afterwards but myabe this will help. I am have had RA for 3 years and I am currently 51/2 months preg. I was on enbrel and Meth. I stopp taking meth 3 mths prior to getting preg. Once it was determined that I was preg I got off the Enbrel. As for meds I am not a Dr but have asked and re asked my Drs. Enbrel has been around according to my Dr for 16 years and all "studies" show that it is safe to cont while preg. Even my OB agreed. Now that being said that is not long enough for me so I made a choice to not be on it. As for steroids, my Dr have all said pres. was safe, however could contribute to low birth weight. This drug has been around along along time and studies have shown that it has minimal impact on baby. Ok now I am not one of the lucky ones who got preg and went in to remission..... It has been a struggle and my RA was very well mang before preg. It has come back really bad at times and others times has been mild over the past 5 months. At one point I got steroids injected into my knees becasue the pain was sooo bad. My Dr told this would reduce the amount of drug in my blood stream because it was going right into a joint. MY OB was fine with it. To me I need to be healthy to have a healthy baby. I am doing the best I can to min. the impact on the baby. I am not on daily steriods becuase with Alternative Thpy. I have been ok. Good luck and remember its a conversation btw you and your dr.and you have to be healthy to have healthy baby.

5/ 7/09 6:58pm

Thank you so much for your response back! Recently I have started getting into a much stricter exercise regime and am trying to get back into shape, in preparation for a healthy pregnancy. You drive home a good point...that in order to have a healthy pregnancy, I, myself have to be healthy first. Did you do anything, prior to getting pregnant, that you feel helped to prepare your body for pregnancy? Specific type of exercist, diet, etc.?

SprkPixie

5/ 7/09 9:01pm

Thats great that you are getting back in shape!! I actually have been a runner for many years and also for the past 2 years I have been rock climbing. So I was a fairly active pior to getting preg. But once we started talking about trying I started doing more exercise classes, yoga and weight lifting. I alway try to eat healthy ie all the veggies and friuts but really I always worked out so I could eat cookies!

Now that I am preg my Dr has said I can cont everything I was doing before. Even at 5 1/2 mths it is still ok. I have stopped running because my RA has rocked my knees and my hips. I stopped climbing recently because I could fit in my gear. LOL.... Now I lift 2 times a week for an hour, I am trying to swim and do yoga 2 times a week. I have really had a rough go with my RA so for the last month I haven't done much. But I still eat like I am lol working out..LOL.. Anyways I have put on more weight then the 1 lb a week but whatever.

I wish you best of luck. Don't let people make you feel bad for you choices to keep yourself healthy.

Pregnancy & RA

Ask a Question